At the School in the Cloud, volunteer ‘grannies’ use Skype to help some of the world’s poorest children teach themselves. Could mainstream education learn from them?Every week Lorraine Schneiter, a former Open University tutor, sits down in front of her computer, opens up Skype, and calls a group of children in India. And then they chat.What about? “It depen […]

Teaching unions concerned by increase in young pupils expelled for assaulting adults A rise in pupils excluded by primary schools has caused the first increase in exclusions from English state schools for eight years, with teaching unions concerned by an increase in young pupils expelled for assaulting adults.Figures published by the Department for Education […]

As the summer break is in full swing for most UK pupils, we’ve swapped this month’s teaching resource for a brief look back at how previous generations of children enjoyed their freedom from the classroom - as captured in images from the GNM Archive. Continue reading...

Demands for times table tests on the first day of school, Yale applications for six-year-olds – pushy parents are making my students’ lives a miseryMore from the Secret TeacherAs teaching goes, I have little cause for complaint. I work with sparky, engaged students in a small independent preparatory school. My classroom was once a grand family dining room. I […]

One vice-chancellor asks if it’s time to shake up the process and make it less intimidating and more meaningful to studentsClearing is a vital part of the student recruitment cycle. It gives prospective students a chance to revisit application choices in light of their A-level results, or because they have changed their mind about the course they wish to stu […]

Peter has now completed his first term at sixth form on his A level course. For him, sixth form and A levels were the only choice really, he is still in a mainstream school, but has a place in the school’s Asperger’s Unit, which started the year he did at the school, and has now extended into the sixth form to continue to support those of its students who have progressed there.

He still has a similar package of support to that he had in the lower school, only TAs now perform the task of note takers. They are on hand to help with organisation and planning of work and to help Peter manage his private study time. In reality, much of the private study work lands with us at home in the form of homework. This is because I think that Peter is really enjoying the social side of being at a sixth form, in a way that he didn’t in the lower school. Out of necessity, the Aspergers Unit had its own place in the school, as children who have AS can cope poorly with the social aspects of being in a big school during break and lunch time. This is when friendships are forged and Peter missed out. He is really enjoying the fact that there is no separate social area for the young people with AS to go, (even if they need a refuge from the racket and noise) and he has had to learn to make friends. This was very difficult and stressful to begin with and to be honest, I really missed the AS unit on his behalf, but he has actually made more friends than he ever did in the lower school. I am very happy about that, and I know how lucky we are that he has been able to cope. I know some young people with AS struggle to make the transition.

In terms of work, he has kept up pretty well. He has kept up with the essay type of work, and the practical side of his courses pretty well. However, he is struggling with some aspects of the extended coursework in terms of planning and organisation, but is developing (with help) some strategies to cope with this, so I am optimistic that he will catch up. He is also enjoying the enrichment courses. These are things like rock climbing, football, business courses and Music. He came home very happy today as he is now involved in music group and has been singing and playing music all afternoon.

We are tremendously lucky that Peter has a place in a sixth form with the continued support from the AS unit. His AS level predictions are optimistic and if he manages to keep up with the work load and to adapt to the unexpected demands it is making on him (lots of extended course work), I am hopeful that he will get some reasonable A levels.

We can only take things one step at a time, but I think it is fair to say that we are cautiously optimistic for the future.

It seems right that I should post about Peter’s GCSE results, having made such a tremendous fuss for so many years about his and William’s schooling. Was it worth it? DiD it work? The answer has to be a resounding ‘Yes’. All summer I felt reasonably secure that it would be OK. Peter had moved on and was hugely enjoying being on holiday, not the least bit worried until the day before results day. None of us were prepared for what he got – his results included a few As, some Bs and a couple of Cs, including English and Maths. to say we are hugely proud is an understatement, I still feel dazed.

Peter now has his sixth form place secure. he easily achieved the required grades and knows he is just as good as anyone else in his intake.

I probably won’t post much from now on. I have made my point. Somehow you just have to get the help for your special needs child to help them achieve their educational goals – in Peter’s case GCSEs and a place at sixth form college. We continue to fight the good fight for William as he begins his GCSE courses and I know he has the specific help in place to achieve his goals.

We can’t know the future but we know we have done our best for our boys. Peter was predicted D’s at GCSE when the administered the ‘baseline assessment’ in reception class. It was barbaric to be told that about our four year old, thank god we refused to believe it.

If you have a child with SEN and you don’t think their needs are being met, You know what to do. The Guerrilla Mum method has worked for us.

I haven’t blogged for quite a long while. With two boys with special needs at home, requiring help and support to access the curriculum at school, it is fair to say that we took a decision to put all our energies into helping them achieve their aims at school, and to achieve their dreams in their out of school lives. So blogging has I am afraid gone by the by. However, today I am hit by the knowledge that Monday will be the date of William’s last GCSE exam and he will wear his school uniform for the last time. It marks the end of fourteen years of planning, plotting, fighting, hoping and praying for him to reach this time happy and with some qualifications and with options to go on to A levels. The signs are very positive that he will have passed his exams. He has worked hard, and knows where he wants to go – he will start sixth form in September. I am still anxious for the future as I look at the way the government says it would like to develop education. I know that this is not the end of the road. I know that both of my children have a way to go in overcoming the obstacles that will be placed in their way by their disabilities, but I am struck dumb by their tenacity and will to work hard and to succeed.

It has been a good few weeks since my last blog. I must confess to feeling somewhat battle fatigued due to the escapades of the new government and their effects on my children’s schooling and haven’t wanted to write as much as before. I have found it very stressful, watching the effects of the cuts and the changes to our education legislation take shape. My own children’s school recently became an academy, with only the sketchiest of consultation processes. The school’s defence to this when questioned was that they never arranged any meetings because they thought a consultation event would be poorly attended… we never stood a chance. The Local Authority has been trying to save money by messing with transport arrangements for statemented children, and have sent out some confusing letters for parents to worry about. Cuts to therapy services and educational psychology services are starting to have a bigger effect. SENCOs are walking around school looking increasingly stressed, and William is now finding himself ‘buddied’ up with other children to share teaching assistant support. We are watching this carefully but it is hard to object to this knowing that in doing so, another child may simply not get help at all. It is fair to say that some of the services our children rely on are simply not what they were.

I have not been entirely idle however. The people at the BBC Learning Parents blog have asked me to write a piece for them which can be seen here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/parents/ You can also see posts from other writers/bloggers/parents with similar interests in special educational needs and parenting.

I’m hoping that I can shake off this coalition inspired malaise and get back to blogging soon. Normal service will I trust, be resumed shortly

The green paper for SEN and disability states that those children who currently have a statement, less than 3% of children with SEN, will have an education, health and care plan (EHCP) under the new system. There are also plans to improve achievement for children who are disadvantaged through pastoral care. So far, however, there are only very vague indications about how SEN will be provided for in children who fall into neither of the above categories and have less severe SEN. There will be a lot of children in this lower level category of need! Many of these children will have very real SEN requiring specialist support.

I have commented regularly about the limp and woolly provision currently available to unstatemented children with SEN through the school action and school action plus categories of the graduated response process of our current system for meeting SEN. Yet the new system promises to scrap these classifications replacing them with a new tier of provision. Children will be ‘lumped together’ in this category, with some receiving pastoral care because they are disadvantaged, and others receiving support for SEN through ‘better teaching’ and schools sharing best practice. Also, the voluntary sector will be brought in to carry out so far unspecified roles. Remember, this new system will be implemented by health and education services that have undergone savage cuts and will draw heavily on untrained support from the voluntary sector. I don’t believe it is possible to improve provision for children with SEN and disabilities by cutting specialist services and replacing these with an untrained voluntary sector.

I can see a lot of children who need specialist intervention for their SEN receiving little more than pastoral support if the school has nothing else to offer, leading to misery and failure for thousands of children. How do I know? This is exactly what happened to my son under the deeply flawed but infinitely more robust graduated response of our current system.

The lack of clarity surrounding this is simply not good enough. Everyone has the opportunity to influence these policies by taking the opportunity to make representations to the consultation, and write to their MP to ask how, in detail will the plans be funded and implemented.

The Green Paper on SEN and Disability, issued yesterday, has caused some furore as parents and children, schools, health and education workers and other stakeholders attempt to take in its implications for the future. I for one have been thinking a lot about the report.

The most pressing thing for me is this: as the parent of children who have statements, I am very interested in the Education, Health and Care plans which will cover a child from birth to the age of 25. If done right I see huge potential for supporting a child through school and into work. The Green Paper detailed that the assessment for these plans is to be carried out over a day, with professionals coming to the child rather than having a number of assessments carried out at different locations and over a period of months. That is all very well, but when you have a child who needs a statement – or similar support, it is vitally important that assessment is both accurate and appropriate. Clearly, there is room for improvement in the length of time statutory assessment (or similar assessments) will take, but they are lengthy for good reasons. Assessing a child with complex needs is complicated and it is time consuming… Most of all it is very hard work for the child, who can find assessment very stressful. Sometimes just one speech therapy assessment can take one, two or even three hours. Other assessments can be similarly time consuming if done well. Children who have statements, or who would need an Education, Health and Care plan will need a series of appropriate assessments, and it is very important that this is done right. It cannot be rushed simply to save money or to make the system more efficient.

Yesterday, as a parent who commented on the original Green Paper call for views, I received this email from the DfE:

‘As you may be aware, this morning we published our Green Paper Support and aspiration: a new approach to special educational needs and disability.

You helpfully responded to the call for views launched last September as we began our work to develop our Green Paper and I would be very pleased to hear from you again. Please respond to the consultation and let us know what you think of our proposals.

If you would like more information, please visit our website for the full text of the Green Paper, the consultation and other associated documents http://www.education.gov.uk

Best wishes

Ella Joseph

Deputy Director

Special educational needs and disability

Department for Education’

Evidently we still have an opportunity to collectively make comments on the Green Paper. I am heartened that there will, hopefully be an equivalent plan to the statement, and that this is not simply to be scrapped and also that this will be protected by legislation. If enough of us continue to comment during the green paper consultation period, between now and June, and if we do so loudly enough, (even if we did not comment on the original call for views), then I do believe we can affect the eventual outcome and the legislation. Also, the document is very aspirational, and I still can’t see where the funding and the well trained health and education professionals to put these things into practice will come from, bearing in mind that the green paper will rely heavily on services that have been savagely cut. I am deeply worried about the government’s plans to bring in an untrained and unpaid voluntary sector into the identification and meeting of SEN. I think it will take a lot of pressure from the general public to get the government to sort these things out so that our children with SEN and disability can have successful outcomes!

In our house the Guerrilla Dad got up having listened to the 6.00 news on Radio 4 and went to let the hens out. Being a cheery chap he usually speaks to all the hens kindly and gently however, this morning he had heard the Green Paper on SEN & Disability was proposing to scrap statements and was proposing statutory mediation in a process which would be managed by the voluntary sector. ‘Big Society, Big &^%(*£”!! said GD as he grumpily put out the hens’ food. We later heard on Radio 4 a report suggesting that hens have empathy. Being empathetic they retreated to their hen house.

We are still checking the DfE website, and the hens are still hoping the GD’s mood improves because they do miss their little chats. It will not improve if the news does not very soon get better than what is touted by the Tory press.

GD is proposing that our William’s hen Queen Latifah should be seconded to the Dept of Education as an advisor, as he has seen precious little evidence of the government demonstrating empathy for children with SEN and disability. We think she could teach the government a lot…

I drove two unhappy children to school today who were worried that they would lose their places at school and their help because of what they had heard on the news.

More later. For the record, this is not my response to the Green Paper because I am waiting until I have actually read it – unlike some!